First, Norment’s proposal “assigns to the General Assembly the responsibility of defining offenses that would be classified as violent,” which means that it’s up to Virginia Republicans to decide whether, for instance, drug offenses are “violent” or not. That alone could eliminate a huge number of ex-felons from ever getting their voting rights restored. Second, it would take a few years to get this into the constitution, even assuming it passed the Virginia General Assembly in two successive sessions with an election in between. Only then would it be put on the ballot.

So…all in all, this is a really bad joke by Norment and Virginia Republicans, who are far more interested in preventing people from voting than in encouraging more people to vote. Disgusting.

Governor Terry McAuliffe released the following statement today in response to the proposed constitutional amendment filed by Senator Thomas Norment:

“This cynical proposal unmasks Republican leaders’ true motive, which is to permanently disenfranchise men and women and condemn them to a lifetime as outcasts from our Commonwealth. While no one condones violent felonies, enlightened societies believe that all men and women are capable of redemption. As such, we remain committed to giving them a path to full citizenship in our Commonwealth. Senator Norment’s proposal would enshrine in our Constitution Virginia’s status as an outlier among the American states. Senator Norment proposes to make Virginia one of the most restrictive states in America in depriving its own citizens of any and all means to restore their civil rights.

“Senator Norment attempts to disguise this goal by couching his proposal as a means to ease restrictions against those who have committed nonviolent felonies, but the details of his plan expose that claim as a deliberate falsehood. In truth, this proposal is a step backward for those convicted of nonviolent felonies as well. His proposal would reinstate a burdensome requirement that individuals fully pay their court costs as a condition for the restoration of rights. This is an unfair demand that my administration eliminated as a modern-day poll tax on our citizens. We will not accept a punitive tax as a barrier to voting for the poorest Virginians. In addition, Senator Norment’s proposal would even restore a policy rejected by Governor Bob McDonnell requiring individuals to complete suspended sentences without supervision before their rights are restored.

“We will strongly oppose any new civil rights barriers that would move Virginia backwards and make our Commonwealth a national embarrassment. Senator Norment’s proposal is an affront to the ideals established by Virginian Thomas Jefferson 240 years ago.”

HENRICO – Earlier today, Republican Leader Sen. Tommy Norment proposed a state constitutional amendment that would alter Virginia’s process for restoring the rights of former felons. State Sen. Donald McEachin, Senate Democratic Caucus Chair, made this statement in response:

“Both Republican and Democratic governors have used their discretionary authority to restore the rights of former offenders. Under this proposal, that authority would
​be eliminated​. And some Virginians would have no hope of ever again participating in our democracy — no matter how long ago their crime, and no matter what they do after. That change is fundamentally unjust.

“Moreover, nowhere else in the law does it say that one must have paid all of one’s financial debts in order to have the right to vote. This is not really a proposal to restore rights at all; on the contrary, it is requiring individuals to meet onerous requirements not expected of others. Once again we are dividing citizens and setting up different prerequisites for voting, and it smacks of Jim Crow

“The great world religions all speak of the importance of forgiveness in a just world. This measure takes exactly the opposite view; any lawmaker who claims to govern from religious principles, and who supports this bill, is deeply hypocritical. I am incredibly disappointed in Sen. Norment’s choice.”